To quote Stu: "The weather's better today... but it's still rainin"

First off, Kamikaze Palm Tree: way better! They raised their volume and interacted with the audience more. Really went a long way.

But man this setlist. For Fans of Chill Gizz, this is your show. A massive show opening Rattlesnake with quotes and teases for a half dozen other microtonal songs, finally culminating in Honey. 

Then? A massive jammed out Shanghai, possibly the highlight of the show. Hate Dancing and Astroturf follow up, bringing some much needed Changes love to the show.

Cookie Dawg gets to shine on Down The Sink, which gets a lil strange at the end, and then "the first time ever in gizzy lizzy history, wait I'm already wrong", a fantastic Invisible Face Jam that goes into Wah Wah and Road Train.

 

Ice V cools things off and gets a solid jam. Then the Horology suite gives us some Poly action in on the show. The Horology Suite is not jammed, but played close to the studio version.

If things were too chill for you, check out this duo of metal tracks, Supercell, in reference to the rain, and Self Immolate. If yesterdays The River had a Dead style Space, this has a Dead style Drumz. 



Then, as a closer, a nice jammed Am I In Heaven?, not too crazy, but quite nice.

A must listen show, IMO

 

The evolution of Jammy Gizzard continues with this grooviest of sets.  The boys waste no time and dive right into the jams with a fiery Rattlesnake, suffused with touches of Honey and Sleepdrifter.  The last "rattle's me" cuts off the rest of the band as Stu continues riffing and the band jumps right back in with Honey proper, and more Sleepdrifter teases.

After only two songs, the banana is shelved and the crew rolls out the synth cart for a rousing rendition of Shanghai.  Ambrose's falsetto verses ring through over the synth loops before the band takes off into a lengthy jam over the main riff.  If this is any indication of the sounds of the second 2023 album, I am very excited to hear more.  Shanghai is followed up by Hate Dancin' and Astroturf.  Hate Dancin still perhaps needs a bit of drilling but Astroturf was spot on, every note landed, and Lukey and Cavs held down the last half of the song with frightening precision.

After the Changes set, it's Cookie's Turn.  Continuing on the funky groovy theme of the night, Cookie Dawg calls out Down The Sink, my personal favorite song off Gumboot Soup, and a welcome return to live rotation.  Cookie's playing and vocals on this track are on point, and towards the tail end of the song, the funk gets even funkier.  The band gets hectic and louder and ever so chaotic, before dropping without warning back into one last chorus.

A long, dramatic pause in the music, as the boys have a brief chat about what is coming next.  Speculation and gossip in the audience grows as listeners wonder what the band is about to drop on us.  "Lucas just asked me what key this is in, that's how prepared we are for this.  Ah, fuck it, Invisible Face."  Massive cheers erupt from the audience as the band plays a song not heard since 2018, and like the rest of the set before it, it is most funky.  The breakdown wove in and out, quiet and loud, as a mesmirizing nonagon played across the video board.  Eventually Stu brought it back to the head for the transition into Wah Wah, although they could scarsely get past the second verse before dipping into the River jam from the previous night.  A few more minutes of swimming in the river before we got back to Wah Wah and Cav's double kick powered the band straight into Road Train, releasing all the tension built up from the previous two songs.

In case you thought we were done with the funk, you were wrong.  A long, drawn out riffy jam eventually grew into Ice V, replete with Stu and Joey guitar solos and sexy saxy Ambrose trills.  The post chorus jam took a turn for the heavy, as the band came back in for the Queen of Ice verse.  Instead of the usual G Dorian riff, the band appears to be playing over a sort of Andalusian Cadence (I, bVII, bVI, V).  Is this a new version of the song, or a hint at something to come later?  Only time will tell.

A brief break in the music as the band breaks out the heavy metal instruments.  Excitement in the audience swells as we are finally getting more metal.  And they the pull the rug out from under us with a spot on rendition of the Inner Cell suite.  Up next is Supercell from PetroDragonic Apocolypse, a fully formed storm of thrashy goodness.  After that, we get a drawn out intro for Self Imolate, but before they can launch into the song proper, the boys sit down and Cavs and Lukey open up a drums and bass jam.  The other members slowly join in, creating a heavy metal soundscape.  Pulsing tribal rhythms lead listeners on a fiery run across the surface of Venus for several minutes, building up the energy until eventually returning to the main song and unleashing that energy back into the crowd.  They're getting good at this.

One last song to close out the night.  A gentle riff starts, then builds, culminating in a lovely, albeit shorter, Am I In Heaven?  The length does not mean the song was a let down at all.  We had gotten plenty of jams that night, and one last banger to round out the set was just what the doctor ordered.  The whole audience screaming the chorus over top the four-on-the-floor drums brought the whole Wierdo Swarm together for one last dance in the rain.

With two incredible and unique shows already finished, the swarm is left wondering what is still in store on night 3.

6/12/2023 was the first Gizzard show I saw in person that fulfilled the excitement, energy and variety that I love from this band. It was my third show but by that point it was the best.

The Chicago residency had some funky weather but thankfully 6/12 was a nice Summer day. Not too hot, not too cold, in a gorgeous in between. Perhaps the weather influence their set and the energy that coursed through the band right from the word "go."

Like the night before Gizzard opened with a microtonal set though this time it progressed much better. They started with a rocking "Rattlesnake" that had the crowd moving before making their way into the K.G. single "Honey" which set a mellow tone going for the next tracks. "Shanghai" from Butterfly 3000 was up next and stood out as the first true highlight of the night with it's long, extended jam featuring Stu singing "grow wings and fly" with Amby echoing him, a loud but thrilling electronic jam and some fun dances from Stu. Changes got some representation with "Hate Dancin'" and "Astroturf" - both of which were nice follow ups to the last two songs and once again noteworthy. Cook got a song next and it was the upbeat but slightly off balance Gumboot track "Down the Sink." While there was lyrical flub, it was yet another highlight at least for me. Following that was a tour debut and debatably a live debut - Nonagon Infinity's "Invisible Face." The track had seen some performances dating back to around 2016, they never played the entire track as heard on Nonagon Infinity until 6/12/2023 and while it was seemingly impromptu the band got it down quite well and began to work their way through the end of Nonagon. A slightly weak "Wah Wah" grabs hold of the audience before battering them down with a heavy "Road Train" before spiraling into a fun post-Eric classic "Ice V." Yet another highlight. From there the band grabs hold of their C# tuned guitars for the "Inner Cell" trilogy which was nearly as gripping as it was on Polygondwanaland. The band then dives into their metal repitoire with a loud, thrashy "Supercell" and a crowd favorite "Self-Immolate" featuring a long, tribal drum solo from Cavs. The show ends on a short but sweet "Am I In Heaven?" wrapping up the night with smiles all around.

6/12 isn't the biggest show from Gizzard but it was a fun one and something I have a feeling will be a fan favorite for 2023. It has a little something for everyone with an energy capable of converting listeners into fans. In other words, it was quite good.

I'll be honest, I feared I was being an idiot, buying tickets for consecutive KGLW shows; how different could they possibly BE? I knew the setlists would be different but the whole impact of this show was completely different than Sunday. I've listened to all their albums but I still didn't understand how versatile a band they'd become. Again I was really in awe the whole night, mostly unable to stop dancing. It's wild how differently they present themselves on their albums; the studio masks come off and here's this bunch of goofy dudes freed from the constraints of getting it exactly right. For a middle-aged guy like me this was a night of frequent nostalgia pangs, the way Gizzard borrows liberally and directly from its antecedants. Normally that bugs me; this band takes it to such an extreme you have to marvel at how they blend it all so well. Almost Ween-esque. Night one had the bigger highlights, night two it's hard to pick highlights because the whole thing flowed so well. (Didn't make it to night three, sadly.) Suddenly my live band priority list is all shook up, I was not trying to let this happen.

Night two at the Salt Shed, and the first thing that was one everyone's mind was, "Thank god the weather is better tonight." As a result, the vibe felt more relaxed, and that translated to the stage.

Of course, I say relaxed, but this is still King Gizzard, and they opened with a fiery "Rattlesnake," with quotes of "Sleep Drifter" and "Honey," before segueing into "Honey" with quotes of "Rattlesnake," so it's all relative. 

If you'd been following along with the last two tours, you knew what was in store when they plinking notes of "Shanghai" started up. Like other recent versions, this had an extended synthy jam, complete with some playful "Let's get real high" back and forth from Ambrose and Stu. I was jumping and dancing with so many others and they brought "Shanghai" around for peak after peak. From here, we were treated to two songs off the Changes album, with the duo of "Hate Dancin'" and "Astroturf." This kept the dancey vibe going, and was a real treat to hear both live. Another deep cut, "Down the Sink," followed, which has been dusted off for this tour. 

Then it was time for some Nonagon Infinity songs, but instead of focusing on the first few songs, we got to hear the ultra-rare "Invisible Face" followed by "Wah Wah" and "Road Train." This transitioned into the groovefest of "Ice V," a personal favorite and a version with a little extra edge to it. It's heaviest "Ice V" I'm aware of, and an interesting take on the song.

The Horology Suite came next, and what a great set of music. While it sticks closely to the studio version here, it's a powerful surge of energy. This led naturally into the only metal Gizz of the night, but the metalheads would not be disappointed. "Supercell" and "Self-Immolate" threatened to tear down the walls. "Am I In Heaven?" was given a closing slot, and while note as jammed out as other versions, it's a great way to end the show.

Night two had a different feel but the two shows together really show off the range and versatility of this band right now. I'd call out "Rattlesnake," "Shanghai," "Invisible Face," and "Ice V" as the highlights, but this show is also about the flow from one to the next. Another great night of music.